Treading In Darkness
by Suikun
Summary: Finally the story from over a year is complete! Read it! or else!
1. Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon. You have no idea how much I'd like to, but I'm not that fortunate. So yes, pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak, alright?

# Treading In Darkness

## Part One

** **

'Hi. I'm Harmony. I'm a brunette with golden eyes. Maybe you've heard of me before, or maybe my sister. Her name is Melody. She's pretty cool… at least, for a sister. Well, she was. She's changed a lot. But more about that later.

'Anyways, I live on Shamouti Island. Yeah, the place with all the strange legends and stuff. We have annual celebrations that are really cool about these legends. It's really neat. See, the legend says:

**__**

**_"Disturb not the Harmony of fire, ice, or lightning,_**

**_Lest these titans reek destruction upon the world in which they clash._**

**_Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting,_**

**_Alone its song will fail, thus the earth shall turn to Ash._**

**_Oh, Chosen one, into thy hands bring together all three,_**

**_The treasures combined tame the beast of the sea._**

**_From the trio of islands ancient spheres shall you take,_**

**_For between life and death all the difference you'll make._**

**_Climb to the shrine to right what is wrong,_**

**_And the world will be healed by the guardian song."_**

**_ _**

'This year, I get to be the legend girl, because Melody didn't want to do it. I'm not sure why, but there must be a reason. I'm sort of confused. I mean, last year, she stopped being cool after this storm and became real quiet, and didn't really want to say anything. She hardly says anything anymore. And she's always trying to be alone with that flute of hers. She says she needs it. I'm not really sure of what's with her. I try to avoid her when she's like that. And she avoids me.

'I guess this is my life. I've got a strange sister and 2 other sisters who are just sisters, Carol and Rhapsody. And a Clefairy, named Magik. But I really just want Melody to notice me.

'But this is an quest I have to do on my own.

'Rhapsody says tha-'

"Hey, what's this?" asked Rhapsody, picking up the paper that Harmony had written on. "Hi. I'm Harmony. I'm a brune-"

"Stop it!" Harmony ordered while grabbing the paper from Rhapsody's hands. The paper ripped a bit on the end and fell to the ground…

A black boot stepped on a ripped bit of paper that blew around the newly deserted town of Ecruteak. "So, the Boss wants us to get the legendary dogs?" asked a raspy voice, belonging to a boy who had just outgrown his teens and had teal blue hair that occasionally fell into his face. His eyes looked deep into his accomplice's.

"Guess so, Butch. I have no idea WHY though. And that's what I'd like to know," answered the girl that followed him everywhere and was his co-worker. Her eyes gazed back into his with a sort of lifelessness. She pulled a strand of the corn-colored hair she was known for away from her eyes and kept talking. "Not like we have a choice. If we don't do what He says, then you know what happens…" She shifted uneasily from one foot to another, knowing all too well what happens when the Boss finds you aren't working anymore…

Butch was silent for a moment. But then he nodded with a slight indecisive look crossing his face. "Yeah. What a shame. They really didn't deserve that…" He lowered his eyes.

Cassidy glanced at him, and then lowered her eyes too. _It's not fair. Even if we were always fighting, she didn't deserve it…_ A single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed against the ground. She coughed once, then looked back up again. "Well, guess we should getting going, eh Butch?"

Butch looked back at her. "Alright. I think the towers… that way," he directed, pointing his finger towards a crumbling ruin, reminding everyone who saw it about what a great civilization Ecruteak had been. He pulled out a fishing net and tightened his grip around it.

"Butch… I- I-… if anything happens… to either of us…" she started, but choked on her words and lowered her eyes again.

He lifted up her chin with his free hand. "It won't. I swear to it."

Cassidy looked into his eyes and a wave of serenity fell over her. "Alright." She smiled at him, then took his hand and gracefully pulled him into the almost collapsed building. "You know, this is kind of like the first time we've been friends instead of just workers? I mean, usually we're talking about work and that kind of stuff. But now…" She stopped and stared into his eyes again. 

Butch blushed and then wondered to himself if this meant Cassidy… Cassidy… He couldn't think anymore about it. He tried to regain his dignity and looked away. "C'mon, we've gotta go find those dogs before its too late." He cleared his throat. 

Cassidy sighed as silently as she could. _So close…_ she thought to herself, but nodded and stepped into the tower. She gaped at the stench in the rotting building. Abandoned spider webs limply hung from the walls that were filled with holes in the strong rock foundation, the light from outside dimly lighting up the room just enough to see around. She dryly wondered if the air was even safe to breath and took another step forward.

Butch followed her footsteps and turned on a flashlight. A brainless Rattatta froze in the light, then scurried away. Butch snorted. _Stupid rat… this whole place is probably full of them,_ he thought to himself with a silent scoff. He flashed the light around in the empty room, noticing each crack, crevice, and cobweb. He switched off the light, seeing as there was nothing to look at.

"I think it's that way…" Cassidy started. Butch walked up next to her and peered at where she was pointing. "Yeah. Its that way," she assured herself.

Suddenly, the ground underneath them broke and they fell into the black hell below… or so it seemed…

Harmony stood up and glared at her sister. "Always poking into my stuff, aren't you?!?!"

Rhapsody tried to look innocent and utterly failed. "Not… ALWAYS…" she tried to excuse herself. This also failed.

"Just… shut up. Shut up," Harmony commanded in a quiet, dangerous tone. Rhapsody knew better than to mess with her now... well, she should have…

"Fine I will." Rhapsody's light blue eyes smoldered and her voice lowered to a hiss. "I'll shut up. But I'll get revenge first." With that she stormed off.

Harmony sighed. _Just my luck. Just like me to get on her bad side…_ She lowered her head and realized to her surprise that Magik was staring at her worriedly. "Oh, hi. Wassup?" she asked the Clefairy with a false cheerful tone.

"Faaaairy?" asked Magik.

"Yeah, well… sometimes I can't stand her…" 

Even though Harmony didn't realize that for her survival, she would have to…

Cassidy rubbed her cat-like blue eyes and peered into the darkness surrounding her. "Butch? You here?" she asked him, even though she was talking to empty darkness.

"Right here, Cassidy. And look what I've found…" he mumbled. She adjusted her eyes to the darkness and realized what he was looking at. A pair of majestic dog statues standing on a platform. It was funny… they looked so real, she would have thought they were if it wasn't for the rock… But she shrugged off the idea and walked over to Butch. "Wait, don't go up there!" he called out to her in the loudest whisper he could manage

"What are you afraid of, Butch?" she teased. "Let's go see! After all, they're just a bunch of rocks, right?"

Butch was silent.

"Right?!"

Cassidy sighed, and her temple began throbbing. **"RIGHT?!?!?!?!" she screeched into his ears.**

Butch cringed. In all the days he had lived, he had never heard someone yell so loud. He covered his ears helplessly and started whining, which worsened his scratchy voice. "Yeah… I'm pretty s-s-sure…" he tried to answer. _Traumatized for life, that's me…_ he thought. _I'll never recover. Ah well… the meek inherit the earth, right?_

"Good." Her eyes narrowed."Cuz we are going to see what those things are…"

Unknowingly, Cassidy had just placed the last piece in the puzzle that was going to destroy earth…

Jessie peeked her slim white head around a corner cautiously. Then she laid her eyes on the bird of rainbows that stood still, glancing around anxiously, sensing trouble was nearby…

"Prepare for trouble, it's the bird of fire…" she whispered almost silently.

"Make it double, the Boss is no liar…" her best friend and co-worker whispered back.

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light…"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight…"

"Meowt dat's right…" murmured the cat pokémon besides them.

"Shhhh… we have to catch this for the Boss, otherwise it's the end…" Jessie warned, putting her finger to her lips. James and Meowth nodded.

Instantly, Jessie jumped out of the dark corridor and threw a flameproof net over Ho-oh. The angry bird struggled against it, but there was no use. For once, Team Rocket had been successful.

"Wow! We caught something!" James cackled that strange laugh of his. Jessie whacked him with a mallet.

"Of COURSE we caught something, we're Jessie and James!" she snorted indignantly.

"Wha bout yer bestest pokié, Meowt?!" Meowth yelled.

"**YOU didn't do anything!" hissed Jessie. Meowth screamed and slashed both Jessie and James' faces.**

"WHY YOU LOW-LIFE LITTLE MANGY FURBALL!!!"

"HOW DARE YOU RUIN OUR BEAUTY?!?!?!"

Ho-oh calmly watched the trio out of the corner of his eye. His own musings were about if either of them had any sanity whatsoever. _How did they manage to catch me if they're this brainless?!_ he asked himself. Sadly he lowered his head. _Now I'm in huge trouble… they'll get reaaaal mad at me… if I ever see them again… this is what I get for being legendary. My friends will never get over this, if they ever have the chance to find out…._

Ash Ketchum yawned and stretched lazily. "Good morning, Pikachu!" he greeted the electric mouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu waved from by Brock's side at Ash.

Ash sniffed the air gently. "Brock is making breakfast, right?" Pikachu grinned and nodded.

Misty sat up from her sleeping bag and smiled at Ash in a sleepy daze. "… hello there, mister pokemon master…" she murmured lazily. Ash smiled back at her. Despite all their arguments, they had always been good friends…

But both of them secretly wanted to be something much more than just friends…

"Hey Ash, I never did get to see Shamouti Island like you and Misty did. You wanna take a break from Johto and show me what its like there?" Brock asked.

Pikachu ran over to Ash and nodded eagerly. Pikachu knew something important was going to happen…

### Pikachu knew…

Cassidy took yet another step towards the dog statues. Placing her hand out, she touched the rounded dents and cracks. She then turned back to Butch and said, "See? You were afraid for nothing!"

Butch sweatdropped and stepped away from the platform. "Cassidy…"

"Yes?" she asked sweetly, ready to rub it in any moment.

"…L… look b-b-behind you…" he stuttered nervously.

Cassidy turned around slowly, and saw the rock sliding off the face of the dog. THE dog.It snarled at her, its yellow, brown, and red face becoming more visible each second. It then roared, its mouth opened huge, as the remaining rocks fell off and its powerful muscles rippled with the strength it had be preserving for years. The other statue followed its footsteps and jumped from behind to next to it, staring right into Cassidy's frightened eyes.

"… my… my god!" Cassidy shrieked.

Entei licked his lips, inches away from Cassidy's own lips. Raikou growled under its breath.

"Quick… Butch… the net…" she hissed quietly, trying to avoid eye contact with the dogs and failing.

Butch nodded and threw the net out. It covered the two dogs, who yanked at it and tried to rip it apart with the razor sharp teeth and claws. Both didn't succeed.

_Thank you_, Cassidy mouthed to Butch. He smiled at her.

"But wait… isn't there another one?"

Giovanni smirked, his face hidden in the constant shadows that he lived in, and beckoned for Laurence III to come sit by him on the scarlet velvet chair beside him. Laurence did so, his face showing signs of early apprehension.

### So this is the fearless leader of Team Rocket… I wonder what he wants me for…

Giovanni's smirk widened. "I… I heard you had an encounter with the beast of the sea, Lugia. Is that correct?"

Laurence smiled with a sense of impending doom. _May as well tell him the truth. He'd find out one way or another if I'm lying. _"Why yes, Sir. I know the secret of the legendary birds."

"Good… VERY good…" Giovanni crooned.

"Yes Sir."

"Please, no formalities. Call me Giovanni… that IS my name…"

"Yes Sir… erm, Giovanni," Laurence obeyed.

"That's better. Now… how did you find Lugia?" the Boss asked Laurence III.

"Well…"

"Speak up. I want to be positive you're telling the truth."

Laurence nodded and cleared his throat. "I… I captured the other legendary birds, then they were let loose by some strange children." He was about to add that a few were members of Team Rocket as he could tell by their uniform, but decided against it. "As the three were fighting over the islands, Lugia appeared."

"And could you find Lugia again?" asked Giovanni.

"Yes, Giovanni." Laurence twitched in his chair nervously a bit.

"Very well then. I'd like to hire you for… a considerable pay. I have enough money to pay you more than enough. Say… $2,000 a day?"

Laurence grinned. Quite a bit of money for someone who never got paid at all. A lot, in fact. He nodded.

"Alright, excellent. I want you to catch me the three legendary birds AND Lugia. You do this, and I'll make SURE you collect your pay."

Laurence was about to get up and leave, but then he decided to ask a question. "Excuse me, Sir, but why do you want the legendary birds?"

Giovanni narrowed his eyes. "You'll find out soon enough."

"The world will find out soon enough…"

Harmony changed her mind. "Magik, let's go visit Melody."

Magik chirped and nodded, then noticed Harmony, who was way ahead of the Clefairy racing up the cliff.

"CLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEFAAAAAAAAIIIIIRRRRY!!!" cried out the tiny pokémon, clearly upset. Harmony stopped and scooped up the upset Clefairy.

"Shhh… its okay. I'm right here," Harmony reassured.Magik smiled back. "Now, onto Melody."

Melody sat alone on the tip of a cliff, overlooking the green-gray ocean. She had changed so much since last year. She lived in solitude, unlike her previous, overly social, frivolous self. She had gained an extreme amount of wisdom about life too. She spent all her time thinking and wondering about what had happened and what it all meant. She was self absorbed and shy, never wanting to take a step into public.

_The Legends Festival is soon, _she thought. _When is it… tomorrow? The next day?_ She looked at the digital watch. _Tomorrow then. Wow… one year. One year since that cute guy saved the world. And his strange girlfriend, too. I remembered how she pointed out that he wasn't alone when she was there. I guess that was her way of saying that… she really likes him. Maybe by now they'll be together. Hopefully for them. Ash never got to see how much she cared like I did. Actually, he probably does too. I wonder if they'll be back for the Festival this year. That would be nice. But Ash wouldn't get to be the Chosen One again this year. What a shame._

_ _

Melody sat still, letting the wind rustle her soft hair and the waves reflect off her eyes.

"There she is…" whispered Harmony. "Why's she in a trance like that constantly?"

Magik just shook her head cluelessly.

"Ah well. Let's go talk to her anyways." Harmony walked over to her. "Sis?"

Melody turned around and stared at Harmony.

"Don't you recognize your sister?" asked Harmony with a bit of dismay.

Melody blinked, then smiled slightly. "Of course."

"Oh good." Harmony smiled back.

"The legend…" murmured Melody.

"Huh?"

"The legend, Harmony. You must fulfill your destiny." Clearly Melody was hypnotized or something.

"What?"

"You know what you have to do. The world needs you. I need you. Depend on your heart and you can save us all…"

Harmony sucked in a deep breath. "You mean the legend is true?!" she exclaimed in shock.

Melody nodded. "You must face the legend. Its up to you… its up to you…"

Harmony's eyes widened. "But…"

Melody broke out of the trace. "What? But… I… you…" Then, Melody went back into the trance again.

"Face your purpose for life, Harmony. Face the purpose you exist. Its to save us all from the doom we bring upon ourselves… Go now, and know what you have to do." 

Harmony blinked, then started shouting at her sister. "MELODY! I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEAR ME IN THERE, BUT I WANT YOU TO WAKE UP! I WANT YOU BACK AS MY OLDER SISTER! I NEED YOU! OUR WHOLE FAMILY NEEDS YOU!!" Harmony let the tears flow down her cheeks as sobs racked her body. "GO BACK TO BEING MY SISTER! NOT THE PROPHET OR LEGEND READER! GO BACK TO BEING MY SISTER! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I WANT MY SISTER BACK!" With that, Harmony could take no more and ran down, away from her sister, as the storm began and the rain fell, symbolizing the beginning of the end….

The shadow moved in the back of the Burnt Tower. Pacing back and forth, it furiously bombarded itself with angry thoughts.

Why, why did I leave?! They need me there, NOW. But why did I have to be afraid?! Team Rocket never amounted up to anything! So why am I afraid?!

_ _

The creature growled at itself.

### Unless this is what I've known would happen… unless this is the danger…

_ _

Cassidy perked her ears. Past the dogs that had given up their impossible struggle was the sound of claws scratching the floor quietly, paws stepping on rock almost silently, and a soft growl that her ears barely picked up. The two dogs turned a bit too and saw the silhouette of the last one.

It's her! She's decided to come out again, I guess.

_ _

_Why did she hide from us?_

_ _

Both dogs' thoughts were trying to find their way to her mind, but the last dog had blocked her mind from them. A mental barrier.

Cassidy kneeled down at the speed of a cautious cat. Her mouth formed the words, _Here, doggie, here…_ She whistled quietly to the area where it seemed as if the dog had been.

But then she turned around to look at Butch and found it glaring into her eyes.

_It's the last dog. Its… Suicune…_ Her mind had trouble grasping that she was staring at the crimson eyes of an angry, 6-foot dog. She placed her hand in front of it as if it was a strange dog she had met out in New York City streets, but tried to act as if she was friendly. "Hello, doggie."

Butch stared at her, not comprehending.

Suicune sniffed her hand, then began licking it. The eyes were wearing a look of submission as it lowered its head. Then, the creature looked back up at Cassidy, its tail wagging gently as if a little puppy.

_Wow. That was easy._ "What a good doggie you are, yes. What a good doggie!" She patted the dog with her hand and smiled. Looking up, she noticed the surprise on Butch's face.

The instant Cassidy looked away, Suicune jumped away from her arms and stood in front of the net, guarding the other 2 dogs and snarling viciously. Cassidy blinked.

"Come back, doggie! Want to play fetch?" she asked desperately, picking up a stone on the ground.

Suicune watched the stone, entranced. Cassidy tossed it in her hand once or twice, and Suicune's eyes moved up and down with it.

### If I play with them a little more, I might be able to---

Suddenly Butch pulled out a gun and shot at Suicune. The net which came out of the bullet hurled at the dog at speeds even faster than it could reach. The net wrapped itself around the water dog and hurled it backwards, ramming it into the other two dogs. The two nets tangled, and Suicune's worthless struggling tangled them further so none of the dogs could get out.

"Gotta take these to Giovanni, eh Butch?" Cassidy asked with a happier tone. Their mission was complete… and the pay was coming soon.

"Yup." Butch grunted as he pushed the net up the stairs and out the building. Boy, was he glad to get out of there. The whole place gave him the creeps. He shoved the net into the back of the Team Rocket truck and slammed the lid down.

Suicune lowered her head against the cold metal floor of the truck. _I… I… I failed…_ A tear rolled down her cheek and splashed on the metal. She closed her eyes and whined softly as the truck began to move towards Giovanni…

~*~To Be Continued~*~

~That's it for now. I'm proud of myself. If I added up all the time I had spent writing this, it was only a few hours ^-^ I was going to make it longer, but I decided not to. I'll continue it if anyone wants me too… Then again, I'll probably continue it anyways. Next time, peeps!

~Suikun~


	2. Part Two

# Disclaimer: I sure don't own Pokémon. Don't sue. But I do own Rhapsody, Harmony, and a few other characters I can't reveal to you know cuz it'll ruin the story…

# 

# Treading In Darkness

## Part Two

Cassidy grabbed onto the steering wheel as the truck swerved around another turn. She gritted her teeth as she pulled the truck to the right to keep from falling off the cliff. Driving was a lot harder than she thought it would be. Too bad she didn't know how…

Suicune struggled against the net once again. _Dang, how DID they get such a strong net?!_ She started biting at the ropes. Raikou and Entei saw her working and started biting too.

The truck headed off to Team Rocket Headquarters while the dogs chomped on the net.

Laurence III only had one more to catch. "Articuno…" his voice murmured with definite syllables over the sounds of the ice cracking. He threw a firebomb at where Articuno's cave was. The explosion was huge and he took a step back. _Too bad I couldn't use my old flyer like last time. But it was way too expensive to rebuild. Stupid Chosen One, stupid legend…_ He kicked a bit of ice on the ground and then clenched his teeth. _Ow… that hurt… mommie? _

Articuno flapped her silver blue wings anxiously. _That's him! From before! He was the one who tried to get us! Should I go out there and fight? Or should I stay in here?! _Her eyes closed to think in peace, then shot open as she glared at the opening of the cave. _I'm going out. I can't loose to him!_

The bird stepped outside regally and stared at him. He swallowed, then threw a master ball at it. _Thank god Giovanni had taken over Silph once… otherwise I'd have to use a regular pokeball. And that would be just about impossible…_

Articuno shrieked. _Not fair! He cheats!_ A final cry was all that was heard as she was sucked into the darkness of the master ball.

Laurence walked over quietly and picked up the ball. "So, I've caught you… Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos! Come out!" He threw the balls out from his trainer belt he had borrowed. The three stood glaring at him with the look of never being subdued. Then, they glanced around and noticed each other and started attacking.

"Good… good…" was all Laurence said.

Lugia trembled. He felt the earth move… in the water, the other pokémon surfaced, not even knowing he was there below them. They knew something was wrong too. He shook his head sadly. _It's the beginning of the end…_ His eyes flickered, then started glowing. _Who let those three together THIS time?! Guess I have to go save the world… again…_ He started his spiral of water and burst out of the ocean, letting the waves crash against him. The water Pokémon swam back as he flew out of the water at top speed, breaking the ice in an angry explosion. _I can't believe this…_ Lugia swept down from the air and landed on Ice Island and stared at Laurence III. _Him again…Not again…_

Laurence III stared back and the huge silver bird. "Lugia… you're mine!" He tossed out another master ball. Lugia gazed wide-eyed at the pokeball thrown at him until it sucked him in. The pokeball wriggled back and forth on the ice, slid twice, then stopped and the center turned white. "Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos… return!" he commanded, holding out three pokeballs. The three birds tried to escape the red beam, but to no avail. Laurence III placed the pokeballs back on his trainer belt and threw up another pokeball, this containing a catch of Giovanni's. "Fearow, take me back to your boss!" he ordered. The bird nodded and swooped down, then paused with its feet on the ground and Laurence III got on. It took off with its wings blending with the strange hue the sky had become…

Suicune shivered as it lay on the cart, strapped down by thick metal strips. _So THIS is how Team Rocket treats pokémon._ She shuddered, seeing the test tubes sticking out of a helpless Seel and the way Clefairy was being forced to use Metronome on its best pokémon friend… _Really, this is sickening._ Her eyes drifted around to seea baby Eevee whining and squealing with some hidden pain and a Staryu on the other side, wriggling with anger as a few Team Rocket Grunts tried to chop off its gem. _Can't they be arrested for this? Oh yeah, the police wouldn't find out… they're a secret organization. Dang. Well, at least I know why it's a secret…_ She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the suffering anymore, and fell asleep.

Laurence passed a rolling tray with a blue, snoozing pokémon, pulled by Rocket Grunts, on the way to Giovanni. He whistled to himself quietly while passing the other two dogs. _Whoo-hoo. Glad that's over with._ He sidestepped a spill on the floor, then reached Giovanni's room. He knocked on the door timidly…

"Come in, please…"

"Hello, Giovanni… I have all of them, right here." He pulled out the four pokeballs and placed them into Giovanni's open hand.

"Thank you very much. You can leave now."

Laurence III bowed then stepped out.

"Ah, he's gone. Now, to begin…" Giovanni sat up and walked to a small laboratory. He dropped the pokeballs on the floor. Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Lugia came out wearily. Giovanni grinned evilly.

"I want all of you to fly into that tank," his low booming voice commanded. Not caring either way, the birds flapped their wings once, then dropped into the tank with a huge splash. Giovanni smiled, then walked over to a small control panel and fingered a button. "Soon, my pretty birds… soon…"

The Grunt, who had brought the three dogs to Giovanni, knocked on his door right after Laurence.

"Whoever it is, come in, and leave whatever it is by my desk," Giovanni called out, knowing that someone had come to give him another pokémon, seeing as that was the message he delivered was that admittance would be allowed to his office only if a pokémon was sent it.

"Yes boss," obeyed the gruff voice of the grunt. He placed the legendary dogs next to his desk and eyed the Persian warily that sat in the chair. It had been said that Persian's claws did all the firing for the Boss. Quickly he departed the room and Giovanni turned back from the lab to see what had been delivered.

He rubbed his hands and smiled. The three dogs, the ones he needed… He picked them up, one at a time, and dropped them in the tank. "So this is it…"

Someone knocked the door, and slightly frustrated, Giovanni turned.

"Come in. Please."

Jessie pulled the door open ever so slightly. "Boss, we've been successful."

_You?!?!?! That's a shock…_ he wanted to say aloud but didn't.

"We caught Mew, Mewtwo, and Ho-oh, plus… something else, sir," James' high, girly voice explained.

Giovanni raised his eyebrows. "You did? Leave them by the desk. There'll be a bonus."

Meowth hopped with joy. "Yay yay, bonus!"

Jessie pulled out her paper fan and whacked Meowth. "Shhh! We don't want Him to he- Oh, eheheh…"

James giggled. "We didn't say anything!" Jessie whacked him.

"I tink its time we gets ourselves outa hewe," recommended a nervous Meowth. James and Jessie nodded and ran out of the room.

Giovanni sighed in relief. "Those three are a disaster. Thank god they're gone." He walked over to the four netted pokémon and smiled. "Now what have we got here…" he murmured. His eyes focused on the mysterious pokémon. "Hmmmm… I've never seen THIS before…"

Celebi stared back at Giovanni. _Dude… that guy is like, so rotten looking! Like, maybe the facelift backfired!. _Celebi started giggling quietly, while the other pokémon 'looked' at her warily. 

_What's wrong now, Celebi? _asked Mew.

_ _

_Nothing. I was just thinking about how ugly he is!_

_ _

_Ooooooooh… do you think he needs a mask to look like that, or is it naaaaaaaatuuuuraaaaal?_ Both pokémon started giggling together.

_Girls are SO immature…_ thought Mewtwo.

_Says you!_ retorted back Mew.

_You want to make something of it?_ Celebi dared.

_No, we can't do anything becausewe're stuck in this stupid net, remember?! _Mewtwo glared at her.

_Oh, right._ Celebi hung her head dejectedly. _This isn't much fun._ Mew nodded.

Ho-oh glared at both of them. _Well, its not going to get any better if you keep acting like immature children!_

Mew glanced at him and wondered if his memory was fading. _I **am** a child, remember?!_

Giovanni smiled at all of them and picked them up, then threw them into the tank with the other legendary pokémon.

"Now… the world is mine, for the taking."

He grinned and touched the control panel.

"Life is going to change forever."

His grin widened, and he pressed the silver button.

Why… what… what is this going through me? I feel a flow of… of negative energy, I guess… its running through me… what, what is wrong?! Why do I feel this way… what is happening?! Its like… I'm being changed, being transformed into something else! Let go! Let go, grasp of evil! I can feel what it really is now… its darkness, shadows! Won't it let go? Cease! Stop! If only it would let go! I don't want to be evil… I don't want to be sucked into Giovanni's power… please, oh please, let go! Get off! I want to be me, not the servant of Team Rocket! Please, please, let me free! I… I…

Giovanni smirked. "My greatest accomplishment! These, legendary, ultra powerful pokémon, are mine! They are under my control!" He placed his hand against the tank and watched as they all wriggled in the water, the opened their eyes and glared at him. The eyes were glowing crimson blood colored. What was the word for these pokémon? Unstoppable? Yes, that was it. Unstoppable. Anything could be his from now on…

Suicune stared at Giovanni. This… this isn't me… Her eyes narrowed slightly. Well, I'm getting out of this dump!Oh, good… I'm not fully evil. In some sense or another, she could tell what happened. He tried to change us, make us his… and he did, but only partly. I can feel who I really am still! She swam over to the glass and shoved herself against it. And again. And again. And finally, the glass broke underneath her, and she slid out onto the ground and ran out, not noticing Giovanni or the other pokémon. I have to get out… NOW.

Giovanni stared in disbelief as he watched the dog run out. "Its… it's gone…" Then he broke out of it and scowled. "Dang." But then he realized he had another chance to control it and take over… a grin spread across his face and he started laughing insanely out of relief and happiness. He still had control!

Suicune ran. I must, must, must for fear of my life, must run away, as far as I can get! Insanely she tore across the fields, volcanoes, meadows, oceans, mountains, as far as she could get, faster than the Magnet Train, faster than a human, faster than a car…. reaching speeds of 1000 miles per hour easily. She had no idea where she was going, but something told her to keep going, faster and faster until she dropped.

I have to get away…

Ho-oh and Mew stared back at Giovanni with the same disbelief that was on his face before in puzzlement. 

Is he, like, insane or something? Mew asked the others.

Shhhhh, little one. There are more important things to worry about,Ho-oh tried to console.

Doesn't matter! We … have… to … get… out… now… Raikou struggled out, about ready to collapse from Giovanni's device.

Yeah. I can feel it too. Celebes's eyes narrowed. This man's trying to change us, turn us evil. We need to get out. 

All right. We can travel together, suggested Mewtwo, always wise.

Okay. I've got it all under control. Ho-oh, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Celebi, and I can fly overhead to see if dangers are coming, and the rest of you can run, or travel on your little bubble. Lugia spread its magnificent wings and looked at the other birds. Ready for this? 

All ten nodded. Entei and Zapdos sleepily tried to smile at the others, exhausted. 

Okay. If anyone needs us birds, cry out. Lugia shoved his way out of the tank and beckoned for the others to follow. Come on. It's our destiny. 

Suicune was still running wildly, not knowing or caring where she was going, the rain splashing against her coat and leaving tear shaped streaks. She swallowed back the pain that was running through her as she tried to resist everything around her. Suddenly, she paused and started growling.

Who's there?!

I am, Sunnier. Right here, psychically answered a deep eerie voice.

And who's that?! she asked impatiently.

Who do you think?

I don't know.

Giovanni.

Suicune trembled and started barking aloud. Demon! You're the one that wanted us different! Let go of my mind before I destroy you!

I'm afraid its too late for that, Sunnie.

How do you know my real name?!

I know EVERYTHING about you, Sunnie.

Suicune started shaking harder while trying to cover it up by snarling. I… I can't believe you! All this for your greed!

Never mind that. Do as I wish. Go an-

Suicune's eyes smoldered dangerously. That's it. I'm not listening anymore! She stepped angrily in the direction she came from, her neck arched towards the sky. I'm me. Find someone else to change! Or else… You won't be able to control us! Never! The dog bolted into the rainy path, shoving mud aside as her speed picked up yet again and before Giovanni could contact her again, she was far gone from his reach.

Entei stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air cautiously. Something's wrong with Suicune…

Raikou stared at him, then nodded slowly, picking up the same vibes as Entei. Suicune and that evil guy…

Giovanni…Mewtwo thought, reflecting on all the havoc that one man had caused.

Leader of Team Rocket… thought Mew, continuing Mewtwo's reflection.

And future destroyer of the world if we don't do something! snapped an impatient Raikou. We've got to keep going!

Lugia nodded from above. He's right. Nothing's up ahead, so its clear for now. Let's go! 

Suicune's feet padded against the darkened path much more slowly. Panting, she stopped for a bit. Racing for hours is exhausting, even for one of the most powerful Pokémon in existence… She slumped over, breathing heavily, her nose inches away from the path. Utter need to gain back the sleep she had missed shook her body like a revenge-desiring storm. Whining a bit, she licked the bottom of a sore, blistered paw and glanced around the place carefully. She could smell the seawater on all sides, tired as she was, and realized she was on an island near the tropics. Wearily, she shuddered with cold and fright. Lonely and abandoned by her own cause, giving up didn't seem quite so bad. She shook one more time, wrought with the pain she had brought on herself, and fell over onto the ground, her body splattering the dirt all around, and her breathing continued heavily for a moment, the slowed and shallowed, and eventually… stopped…

Harmony tore down the path, not even seeing where she was going, in the same blind fashion as the dog that had thrown the dirt as she sped across a very similar path on a very similar island… Harmony kept running, running on and on from who had hurt her feelings without even trying, until she tripped over an obstacle in the path and hurled forwards, covering her soft dress with thick clay-like mud. Looking back, her eyes widened as she caught sight of a pokemon laying across the ground as if dead.

Then her eyes either deceived her or destiny struck…

A brilliant flash exploded from the dog and as the light cleared, a teenage girl laid right where the dog was, then faded away into the dog…

Harmony drew in a quiet gasp and shook down to her toes. That pokémon's… human! That… that's not possible! She slid over to it on the mud and touched its cheek softly. Well, its still hurt… I have to take it back to my house and make sure its okay… She gently lifted the dog, surprisingly light in her arms, and walked carefully back to her empty home to face the beginning of the miracle…

**Jeez, I thought I'd get to 'Legend explanation' stuff in this chapter, which is TOTALLY cool, lol. Guess not. Its too long for that. Next time… I swear, it'll be there. Secret of the legends, explanations for every unanswerable question on the legendary pokémon, reaaaaally cool, next time!**

** **

**~Suikun**


	3. Part Three

# Disclaimer: I own a few people in here, like Harmony and some others I can't reveal to you. But they'll be kind of obvious. But I don't own pokémon or even close to owning it. So it belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak, etc etc.

Note:Alyssa=Suicune- girl

Valicano= Moltres- girl

Substorm= Lugia- boy

Struck=Raikou- boy

Rhapsody=Celebi- girl

Polarice=Polarice- girl

Bubblz=Mew- girl

Desu=Mewtwo- boy

Pyre= Entei- boy

Torch= Ho-oh- boy

Thunda= Zapdos- boy

# Treading In Darkness

## Part Three

A redheaded girl stretched lazily as her silver-olive eyes opened. Glancing around the room, she thought to herself: _How DID I end up in here? Ah well… have to go find out, I guess. _Then, a bit dismayed, she looked down at her mud-covered clothes and sighed quietly. "Looks like a shower is first, then." She pulled the covers back from a twin bed with pink covers and took another gaze at the room.

_What DID happen here?! _Her eyes flickered. The whole room was… 

PINK!!!!

She gave a muffled shriek. Pink wallpaper, pink curtains, pink window frames, pink bed, pink dresser, pink closet, pink carpet, pink bathroom… it was like some sort of nightmare! She shuddered a bit, then calmed slightly. After all, pokeballs did look sort of cute in pink! She grinned, and tossed a pink towel over her shoulder and waltzed down to the bathroom.

The teenager slipped out of the bathroom and wrapped a soft sky blue robe around her body then tied it up. She danced on sparkling toes, then slipped on the floor and giggled. _I feel much better than last night… _She shuddered, thinking of it, then smiled again, looking down at her dimly reflected face. Then, her eye caught sight of a brown-black-red stain on her right arm in the tile and she frowned, then lifted her eyes to see what it was. A hardened, rust-colored, angry stream of dried blood was on her light skin, looking like a dark, deadly scar. Her eyes narrowed.

### I know where this is from… last night. But I just took a shower!

### Shouldn't it be gone?!

_ _

She touched the part that had bled and felt a slight spark, then pulled back her fingers swiftly and nursed them. _Why… how…_ "Ah well… I have to go find out who had the hospitality to bring me in here!" She picked herself off the ground clumsily, still injured, and walked in a hip-hop manner to the door and out of the room. 

Delicately she stepped down the stairs and landed on the ground floor on a hop. She glanced around the unfamiliar settings again, then noticed the brunette who's hands were tapping the table anxiously as she pondered. The redhead walked over to her and looked her in the eye.

"Hi! You must be the one that got me out of the cold last night! I can't thank you enough! My na-" The redhead stopped abruptly. 

### Those eyes… those are the eyes!

_ _

She stared at them.

### It's the eyes of the girl… 

Suddenly she realized she was staring and blushed a bit. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was staring."

### Is this really her?

_ _

"My name's…" She racked her brain for a nice fake name. "Alyssa." She grinned. "Who are you?"

The brunette looked at 'Alyssa' curiously, then blushed herself. "Sorry, I was staring too! Uhh, my name's Harmony."

_Harmony?! _Alyssa's eyes widened. "Y… you're… Harmony?!" She swallowed and stared at the girl, not realizing she was staring, and wouldn't have cared if she did know.

Harmony wore a blank gaze. "Well, yeah, I just said so," she answered, wondering what was wrong with the person.

"I… I guess I should explain myself. Uhhhh…" she stammered, not sure of where to start. "Where are we?"

"Shamouti Island," Harmony answered carelessly, getting up. "You want anything to drink?"

"I'll have some tea." Alyssa sat down and fingered the woodworks of the table nervously. 

"Okay." Harmony reached up and pulled out two tea bags, then started boiling some water. Turning back to Alyssa, she asked, "So where are you from?"

"Hmm? Oh, Ecruteak."

"Isn't Ecruteak deserted though?" Harmony looked at the tea bags then poured some water in two mugs. 

"Yeah. Team Rocket chased everyone off a few years ago. Its kind of sad… they did a lot of killing."

"Mmm-hmmm. I had never known they killed, but I guess anything's possible with them." Harmony dropped the tea bags into the mugs and placed them on the table, then say opposite of where Alyssa was standing. "Sit down, please!"

"Okay." Alyssa slid into the chair. "And Team Rocket's a lot worse than most people know." Her eyes flickered, thinking of what had happened, all she had been through…

"I want to know something most people don't know, and it's not about Team Rocket. Are you a… a pokémon?"

Alyssa's eyes wandered, then caught Harmony's and she blinked. "Huh what?"

"I asked you if you are a pokémon."

"Oh, well… ummmmm…" Alyssa sat at the end of her chair, alarmed, while trying to not show it and think of a good excuse. "Why?"

"Oh, because… I dunno, it's just… I saw you change. From pokémon to human and back again. I took a pokémon home, and now I've got a girl. That's why."

"I… I see." Alyssa wondered whether to avoid it or not, then decided not to. She needed to hear the whole story. "You're in for a loooong story, you know that?"

"I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just begin. When I was little, I grew up with a bunch of friends. We were inseparable. I remember how much fun we had… it was great.

"Anyways, we all had this little game we'd play, called 'Travel To The Future." It was really cool. We all imagined we'd go into the future sometimes through our own time machine while we played around in a cardboard box. All eleven of us. But it was when Rhapsody, my best friend out of all of us, got really involved was when the game was the coolest and far-out freakiest.

"Because that was when she discovered…

"We had powers.

"I'm not talking those kind of stupid, superhero powers. REAL powers.

"We found out when we where playing that we had went into 'Legend's Era' of the future. Year 2000. That's what we pretended, anyways. And Rhapsody (that's my best friend) started glowing light green, to our surprise.

"Instantly, we were teleported. And then back again, just as fast. But that was only the first time. I found out that once in a while, I'd glow too. A pure, true blue. And I'd kind of be hypnotized in my own mind… it was weird. It still is. Sometimes I'm scared, still… oh, I'm getting off track. Sorry!

"And then I caught my friend Struck glowing. Yellow. I talked to him about it, and we decided to meet in our secret clubhouse to talk.

"That's when I found out that all of us could 'glow'. I had no idea what that meant, or how it would affect us, but I kept coming.

"Later, as the years passed, we were glowing more often. It would sometimes last for hours, and we would leave the house in a hurry, escaping our parents to talk to the others.

"I guess the best way to describe it at that point was a surge of energy uplifting me and strengthening me. At that point, I could fly a bit… more like floating. And sometimes it would feel like I was someone else. Kind of like… a pokémon.

"It was kind of hard for us to accept that we were… freaks, I guess. That's probably what I thought at that point. I think I was around 10.

"A few years passed, and I found my secret power strengthening. Often it would happen, at least every day. I began cutting school so that no one would find out. In fact, I missed about every other day of class. I was quiet and moody, avoiding my friends, teachers, and parents. Mostly. I still hung out with our gang: Struck, Rhapsody, Polarice, Valicano, Substorm, Bubblz, Desu, Pyre, Torch, and Thunda. We were kind of afraid of ourselves, too. There would be days when I would hide from them, too, scared to see what was happening to us. 

"And then came the day. Rhapsody began glowing again. But this time, it was more intense, more like it had a purpose. And slowly, she changed into a pokémon. We all watched her in shock, and then I pulled out my Pokédex.

"I was planning on being a pokémon trainer, mostly because I wanted to be on my own, get out of school, not worry about people seeing me…

"The pokedex said, 'Celebi: Time Travel Pokémon. All other information unknown.' It was soooo weird, watching my best friend, the one I confided all my secrets too, the one who understood me for real, the one who came with me everywhere, the one who wasn't afraid of me, the one that stood by me for everything I did… she was a creature that no one knew, that I didn't know, that I was afraid to know…

"I can't explain it too well, mostly because it's hard to remember things that happened under stress, and also it was a loooong time ago… I'll explain that, too.

"Then I started to feel the surge in energy again. Angrily, I directed my thoughts to destroying everything, despite how peaceful I felt. Suddenly, I realized all life would turn out to be… I can't tell you. It'll ruin your want to live. 

"To continue, I clenched my fists angrily. My eyes were blazing, and all I could see was red. It was like… someone was attacking my friends and me and I was willing to defend them with my life. I was angrier than ever at that one moment. And then the softest serenity came over me. Slowly, I calmed, to find my hands were turning into blue paws and I had a tail! And I fell on four feet to the ground.

"On the ground was a mucky puddle. Instinctively, I touched it with my paw. The water cleared instantly. I stared back at my reflection, puzzled to see a blue shining dog as my form instead of human. No, puzzled isn't descriptive enough. Abhorred works better, because that's what I was. I glanced up, and saw my other friends slowly shape-shifting, and I let out a long, quiet, howl, crying for my friends and I as we became something else… something no one knew…"

Alyssa took a sip of her tea quietly, watching Harmony quietly as the girl's eyes sucked up everything the redhead said. She shook her head a bit sadly, realizing the girl was never going to stop thinking this was wonderful…

"That's interesting… can't you keep going?" Harmony asked, sitting on the edge of her seat. 

Alyssa sighed, but nodded. "Yeah. I still have a while…"

"I decided to try out my new form. I stretched, then looked back at the others. We all nodded at once, each knowing what the other was thinking. We all ran. I had no idea pokémon, even Rapidash, could be as fast as us. It was amazing. We ran, and ran, and ran, and kept running, far far away from our home. We knew, that at that point, we would never, ever turn back. It wasn't an option. We were someone else.

"The next day, I awoke back as myself again. Human, I mean. I wondered if it was a dream, until I saw my friends sprawled across the muddy path we had been racing across. I picked myself up, wincing at the bruises.

"But I knew our secret now. That was all that mattered.

"And eventually, as we ran across the pokémon lands, or flew for some of us, we learned how to change back and forth. It took a lot of effort and energy at first, but we got used to it, and learned how it could help us. Sometimes we'd change involuntarily, like when you saw me, but it worked. We ran around all of Johto and Kanto, changing into pokémon when we saw humans. It worked nicely. Not that there was anyone to fear. Rhapsody, or rather Celebi, had transported us to the past, so not many civilizations existed at that point. I'd say it was… oh, 5000 years ago? Anyways, we didn't fear much. I guess we kind of got used to being… weird? Or is it special? 

"But then one day, we all got a psychic message. It said:

"'Hello there, immortal ones. You don't know me. But I know you. I need you to go to the year of 2001. Urgently. Because the world is in danger, and we need you.

"'I must warn you. There are a few chosen masters.'

"He gave us their names and left us with one last message:

"'You need to come. More than you'd think is expected of you. Come a few years earlier though, because you need to be ready.'

"Rhapsody transported us to year 1999. Since then, we've been living around, avoiding the humans, and the pokeballs. If we were caught, it would mean death. Since we're humans, the pokeball would explode on us.

"And I've been roaming around since then. This is my natural time, because I was born in 1987. I'm 13, in this life and any time I came from. And supposedly we're immortal. We're needed to control the environment, and maybe one day, the human race.

"That's also why we can't breed… there can only be one human. Never are there identical copies: you've heard the term about how everyone is unique.

"Which brings me to a very unique person: you.

"You see, there are some 'chosen masters'. You're one. So is your sister, Melody, as well as Ash Ketchum, Misty, and Brock. You're going to be the greatest master of Pokémon. And you'll have more than immortality, like us… you'll have eternal effect on everyone. Years after you die, you'll be remembered as one of the greatest pokémon masters… ever. That's the way it will be, and you can't change it."

Tired, Alyssa dropped her head to the table, shaking the empty tea mugs. She glanced up at Harmony with a glazed over look, as if saying, "That's the whole story. You happy?" She murmured lifelessly, "And my name's not really Alyssa. Its Sunnie."

Harmony's eyes locked onto Sunnie's. "So… I'm going to be a master?"

Sunnie nodded.

"And this Rhapsody… is she in any relation to my sister?" Harmony asked.

Sunnie nodded again. "She IS your sister."

Harmony sat still without saying anything. _My sister… is… a pokémon? _She stared at Sunnie. "Are… are you sure?"

Sunnie nodded yet again. "Positive. Ask your sister, she'll know. Then again, you probably can't."

"Huh?" 

"Well, Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket… you know what Team Rocket is, right?" Harmony nodded. "Yeah, well, he captured all of us… and tried to send some kind of evil energy into us. I… I can normally talk to them psychically, but… it doesn't work now…" Her eyelids lowered. "God am I tired…"

"I see…" Harmony murmured. 

Sunnie got up and smiled at her. "By the way, you're the chosen one at the legends festival! Tomorrow! Don't you think you should get ready?"

Harmony sweatdropped. "I… I'm WHAT?!?!" In a frenzied panic, she tore around the room.

Sunnie stared blankly at her. "Uhhhh…. Yeah, you are."

Harmony stopped running amuck. "Okay. Guess I have to get ready, right?"

Sunnie grinned. "Yup!"

Harmony glanced at her. "Hey… how do YOU know? Why should I believe you?"

Sunnie mumbled something under her breath, irritated, then answered her. "Because the line in the legend begins with, 'Disturb not the harmony', stupid."

Harmony blinked, then made a 'V' for victory sign. "Oh yeah! That's right!"

"Meowth… that's right…" murmured Sunnie, a little frustrated at Harmony. 

Jessie looked around Ecruteak again. "Why DID the boss send us here?!"

Meowth answered her. "Becus da pwace its empty!" he retorted angrily. "He doesn't want us to get into morwe troubwle, Meowth! And if dere's no one here, we can't get in trouble!"

Jessie sighed. "I guess you're right."

"The boss still thinks we're failures…" finished James.

All three sighed together.

"I wonder if there's anything worth keepin' in this dump," mused Jessie. Distracted, she walked forwards, her head to the ground, and rammed heads with another girl.

"J… Jessie?!" exclaimed Cassidy, her eyes huge with shock.

"Cass?!" Jessie asked back.

"I… I thought you were… were dead!" Cassidy stuttered.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Jessie added.

Cassidy rubbed her eyes. "Wait… you can't be Jessie… the real Team Rocket Jessie is dead…"

"Not this one," grinned Jessie. "You think the boss would kill US? We just brought him some legendary pokemon!"

Cassidy stared. "So… so did we…"

Jessie stared back. "But… but why?" The rain fell across her face, sending single strands of hair across her forehead. James and Meowth came up from behind Jessie.

Butch stepped behind Cassidy and stared with her. "So… why aren't you dead?"

Meowth 'looked' at them. "I bet da Boss probably predended he killed us and den had us woik for him unda cover so we still made him mona…"

James grinned. "And that's probably why our paycheck increased suddenly… eeehoooo!" he laughed. Jessie whacked him with her paper fan.

"Be quiet, James!"

James laid on the ground, his eyes swirling. "Oooooh Jesssssiicaaaa!!!!! Jesssssiiiicaaaaa, the onnnneee that hooooollllds my hhhhhheaaaaaaaRRRT!!" he sang in a drunken-like stupor.

"Uhhhh…" Butch looked at James confused. Jessie rolled her eyes while struggling not to cover her ears.

"Excuse James… he's just like that…"

"Ooooooooooooooh JessssssssiiiiiiCAAAAAAAAAA, do you luuuuuuuuuuuuuuv me tooooooo?!" James continued. Meowth slapped him.

"GET UP YOU LIL NASDY PARASECT!!!!!" Meowth screeched. 

James' ears rang. "EIEIEIEIEIEIEIE!!!"

Cassidy gazed at Jessie, her eyes picking up every feature. Jessie, the girl she had secretly looked up to. Jessie, her main rival and her best friend, besides Butch. Jessie, who she had thought was killed and she would never see again… a tear ran down her cheek. Jessie was alive… she was real… Cassidy stepped forwards and touched the side of Jessie's face. "I… I can't believe it…"

Jessie glanced back confused, but then she realized what Cassidy was thinking. "You better believe it!" Cassidy grinned back at her through her tears.

Melody let the rain drop onto her. "Disturb not the harmony…" she mumbled. She shook her head sadly. _I can feel it coming… the day when we rise to become greater, but lower than ever before…_ She traced the shape of a pokeball on the mud besides her. _Tomorrow…_ She blinked. With her fingers, she added crude beams of light coming out of the pokeball. 

_Tomorrow. _

She looked at her drawing, adding one final touch. In the middle of the pokeball, she wrote….

G S

Magik came up to Harmony and tugged on her dress like a tiny baby. "Cllle?" she asked. Harmony picked her up.

"Sunnie, meet Magik. Magik, meet Sunnie," introduced Harmony.

The tiny Clefairy jumped out of Harmony's arms and stumbled over to Sunnie. "Cle! Faairy! Clee!" she exclaimed.

"Awww, what a cutie!" Sunnie pet Magik. The Clefairy purred. Sunnie looked at Harmony while petting the Clefairy. "Do you have anything else I can wear? I mean, I'm only in a bathrobe…" She giggled a bit. "I think I want to wear actual clothes just in case…"

"In case of what?" questioned Harmony curiously.

"Well, Giovanni has control over us, so if I change into a pokémon, I'll be doing whatever he wants me to. And if I change back… I'm not sure everyone will want to see me dressed in… this…" she explained, blushing a bit. Magik looked up at Sunnie.

"Oh… eheheh, sorry! I'll bring down something for you to wear. Is it okay if Melody once wore it?" Harmony asked, turning around to go upstairs and get something suitable to wear.

"Oh… uh, yeah." Sunnie sat down. Magik smiled at her, then raced off clumsily after Harmony.

Harmony came back down, a bundle of clothes in her hands. "Here you go," she said, giving the clothes to Sunnie. "They're a little dressy, for the legends festival, but they'll do."

Sunnie unfolded them and smiled. A slim, blue with light silver flowers kimono. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere!" she commanded. Harmony nodded with a grin.

"Yessir!" she answered, grinning impishly. Sunnie pretended to scowl at her, then both girls giggled. Sunnie took a step forward, then turned back to Harmony.

"Wait… where's your bathroom?" The two girls giggled harder.

"Its… over there…" answered Harmony between fits of laughter. 

"Okay, gotcha!" Sunnie trotted off to the bathroom to get changed.

Giovanni groaned in frustration. _Stupid creatures_, he thought angrily. The rain pattered against his window on his top floor office. Suddenly, his eyes flickered dangerously. _Maybe I can contact them telepathically… I'll choose Lugia. Lugia!_

His eyes widened. _Sir?! Urgh, get away from me, demon!_ Lugia sent back at him telepathically.

_I'm not a demon. I'm your friend and trainer._

_ _

_Ha! I am mastered by no one! Those who could take me would be the strongest ever! You are not my owner, I am owned by no one!_

_ _

Giovanni smiled. _That is where you are wrong. Now, attack Ho-oh._

**_Noooooo!! _**cried out Lugia in pain. _You… you can't…_

_ _

_Oh yes, I can, _responded Giovanni, chuckling.

Lugia's eyes narrowed. _No… I can't… _But he found the movements forced onto him, no choice. _Please, stop… _he pleaded to himself. But no, he shot out a huge glowing beam at Ho-oh, the tears running down his cheek and blending with the rain. _I've lost… I've lost against Giovanni… a human! _He unwillingly threw his own body at Ho-oh. Ho-oh screeched, and turned to Lugia, its eyes showing anger, resentment… and behind that, deeper, was the feeling of hurt, that the firebird was trying to hide, hurt that his friend could attack him. Ho-oh flamed at Lugia. Both pairs of eyes were blazing. Lugia cried out, not in pain, but in fear and the same hurt Ho-oh was hiding. 

Giovanni smiled. Somehow, psychically, he could tell that he had pitted the two birds against themselves. This was going to be better than he thought…

Articuno looked at Torch and Substorm. Angrily, she screeched. _What are you doing?!_

_ _

Substorm looked back at her. _I'm sorry, Polarice, but I… I don't have a choice. _He flapped his wings and a huge whirlwind attacked Polarice. It hit Valicano and Thunda as well, knocking them over in the air. On the ground, the creatures avoided the whirlwind easily and stared up at Substorm uneasily.

_Sub, why are you doing this?! _asked Desu, floating up to confront the Lugia.

_I… I'm not TRYING to… but… _Substorm sent back. He slammed himself into the Mewtwo as Torch tried to attack Substorm's back. 

Bubblz looked up and shrieked. _DESU'S IN TROUBLE!!! _She glided up to the birds and cried. _DON'T HURT MY DESU-KUN!!!_

_ _

_Desu-kun? _asked Desu, raising an eyebrow. Bubblz flew over to him and hugged him.

_I was soooooo worried! Don't try to get yourself into things like this! _

_Uhhhh…_ Desu stared at the overprotective Mew. _Bubblz, are you feeling okay? _He tried to push the attached Mew off of him, while she refused. 

_Oh, Desu, I never want to let go! _And Bubblz fainted. Desu sweatdropped and held her limp body in his arms, looking down at her.

Struck growled. _What is going on?! _He looked at Rhapsody. _Can you help me? _

Rhapsody nodded. _Get on my back. We can fly up there. _The Raikou jumped on and tried to compact himself to help her gain altitude. Rhapsody soared up and looked around curiously.

Valicano smiled. _Get on my back, Struck. I think Thunda will carry Pyre. _Thunda nodded and swooped down and hovered over the ground as Pyre hopped on. The dog barked at Struck, trying to smile. Struck nodded, then directed his attention to Valicano and jumped on her back. They all gazed at the fight, then Thunda flew into the midst, cawing angrily. Substorm rammed into him and knocked both him and Pyre over. Pyre fell helplessly onto the ground, until Rhapsody swept down and he landed on her back. Thunda shrieked and fell, crashing into the wet ice on the ground, caused by Polarice. Substorm floated in the air, glancing around at the damage he had caused without even wanting to… and hung his head and dropped into the ground next to Thunda. Valicano was about to fly down and see what was wrong until she was attacked in the back by Torch. Her eyes turned blood red with hate. No longer could she see anything because of her anger… she grabbed Torch's neck with her claws and squeezed the life out of it. Torch's eyes glazed over and he fell down to the ground with the others. Blindly, Valicano dove at such speeds that Struck lost his grip and was thrown off to suffer below. Rhapsody zipped up and stopped in front of Valicano and held onto her face.

"Listen to me, Val! LISTEN TO ME!" Rhapsody cried, using her human voice. "DO YOU HEAR ME?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THESE ARE OUR BEST FRIENDS!"

Valicano flapped her fiery wings against Rhapsody's frail body and the flame caught on. Rhapsody let go, her body burning. She closed one eye, trying to hold the pain, and continued.

"STOP!! STOP, FOR ALL OF US!"

Substorm trembled a bit, then pushed himself off the ground. He took off and flew into the air and ambushed Thunda from the back, causing the bird of lightning to push into Rhapsody and knock her out of the air. Valicano slammed into Substorm, and both birds fell to the ground, crushing the dogs…

The legendary pokémon had been defeated for the very first time… by themselves…

The rain fell, stronger and stronger as the pokémon dropped. Hail soon came down, despite the warm summer temperature, and lightning struck everywhere. Volcanoes erupted and the rivers overflowed, potentially drowning the planet…

Sunnie came out, glowing slightly. The kimono fit perfectly. She pulled her red hair back in a ponytail and glanced at her arm again. The blood was still there. She barely touched it, but still felt the same shock as before. Her fingers stung, and she held out her hand to find that the blood had spread onto her palm. But… the blood was still dry on her arm… and the blood in her palm was fresh, a sticky, dense liquid. She stared at her hand, not knowing what would happen, what to do anymore…

I voted against adding more to this chapter simply cuz I don't have much time, seeing as my grandfather's dying. So I'm finishing here.

** **

**And here is where I got the names from…**

** **

**Sunnie- My name's Allison. Get it? Allison? Sunnie? Not to mention that you can get Sunnie from the name 'Suikun' or 'Suicune' if you try hard enough…**

**Pyre- Pyre with an e.**

**Substorm- if its not obvious, Sub (as in under) and storm. An underwater storm.**

**Struck- Struck by lightning.**

**Valicano- Volcano (DUH!)**

**Rhapsody- Sister of Harmony, Melody, and Carol obviously, so its obvious why I chose this name.**

**Polarice- Polar and ice.**

**Bubblz- named for the pink bubbles that Mew always has ^^;;; (By the way, wasn't what Bubblz did utterly sweet? I always thought that Mew and Mewtwo would make a good couple ^^;;;)**

**Desu- No, not the Japanese word… actually, I just stuck a 'u' on the end of Des (des stands for Destiny, which Mewtwo kept using in TFM…)**

**Torch- This one isn't too hard.**

**Thunda- eheheh… this is the only REALLY stupid name that I had, but I was braindead (and still am ^^;;;) so I just kinda gave it a rest…**

** **

**That's it! Next part will be delayed. But anyways… until then…**

** **

**~Suikun**


	4. Part Four

Disclaimer: If I owned pokémon, I wouldn't be writing this fic; I'd be making it into the greatest Poké movie ever! BWAHAHAHA- oh, right. Pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Game freak… daaaarn…  
  
Note: One more part to go! WOOHOOO!! *faints* I gotta feva… ick… *pain pain pain* ooooooooooooooo boy…  
  
1 Treading In Darkness  
  
1.1 Part Four  
  
Ash, Misty, and Brock sighed. It was going to be a loooong trip, unless something sped it up… and chances would be good that they wouldn't make it in time. Ash dropped his hands over the sea and sighed dejectedly.  
  
And a soft, wet blobby thing touched his hand.  
  
Ash jumped up, startled. Looking down, he stared in the creatures eyes and…  
  
"LAPRAS!!!" he screamed. Climbing over the fence of the boat, he fell onto the gentle sea creature's back. Misty and Brock ran over to him when he screamed.  
  
"What is it, Ash?!?!" Misty asked, a worried tone in her voice. She leaned over the fence and looked down. Ash grabbed her hand and pulled her onto Lapras, much to her surprise. He sat her down on the spiked shell of Lapras, and then offered his hand to Brock, while Misty sat, blinking in shock. Brock climbed onto Lapras.  
  
Lapras whined slightly, still carrying the baby voice from a year ago. The transport pokémon was a lot bigger than before though. It had come out of infancy and become an adult. Ash smiled and patted the side of its face. It whined.  
  
"Lapras…" Ash commanded, "Let's GO!!!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Melody reached back and pulled a strand of hair away from her face. Lazily, she glanced down at the GS ball below her that she had drawn in the mud, then turned her face to the sun-setting horizon. She could see the sun setting, despite the rain… it froze her inside. Shaking a bit, she turned away. Looking down again, she drew again…  
  
A line… a curve… a line… another curve… a circle… slowly, the lines came together. Another shape was formed… another… Melody sighed. She traced over the new, wet image in her mind as the rain began to wash away the pokeball below it… a Celebi, reaching up, with the creature's back turned to Melody, but the Time Travel Pokemon was looking back, knowing it couldn't leave…  
  
This is your only chance. If you mess up, we're doomed.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sunnie walked on the beach of Shamouti Island, her sneakers treading dark footprints into the soft wet sand. Never mind that it was raining; being Suicune gave her a reason to glorify in the rain. She tossed her red hair to the side of her face and looked out to the ocean and the horizon, the clouds just barely appearing against the vibrant colors of the sunset. A few thoughts drifted in and out her head…  
  
Why did I lie? Now she thinks I'm immortal. If she saw me die, or any of us, than she'd never trust me… or her sister… again. I mean, I know we can't DIE, of like, old age, or natural stuff, but YEAH, we can be killed. Which would basically end the world anyways. And if SHE found out… this won't work. The girl scoffed the sand, rubbing the end of her sneaker in and creating a small indent, even though she knew that by tomorrow… it would be gone, and completely unimportant. Was that what life was like? Every person walking on the sand, leaving footprints, but the next day, the marks were gone and there was no trace? Was that what everyone was worth? Absolutely nothing? She kicked at the sand viciously, and a Krabby scurried out. Glaring at it, it hopped off as fast as it could. Sunnie sighed.  
  
1.1.1 I don't know what I got into…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Substorm rose uneasily. Glancing around, he saw his friends… unconscious. He cursed at himself silently for obeying that vile creature in charge of Team Rocket, even if he didn't have a choice. Flapping his wings, he pulled himself into the air. He winced from the pain, but continued getting lift. Finally, he shot forwards on a wind wave, musing over what had happened.  
  
1.1.2 I obeyed him… no… I didn't. Or at least, I didn't try to. But… my friends…  
  
He looked back, his eyes quivering at the sight. Instantly he tore his head around, not being able to stand it. Swallowing, he unconsciously headed himself in the direction of Shamouti Island…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Harmony wrapped the jacket close around her. Venturing out, she glanced both ways before leaving the house. I've got to be careful…The rain fell down on her brown unprotected hair, now damp and glistening. She sighed a little. I don't understand what's going on here… Her thoughts paused as a raindrop fell across her cheek, leaving a tear-like stain. What did she mean?  
  
Her eyes picked up on something unordinary. Melody! Her sister sat, with her legs dangling over the ocean, ignoring the rain and wind.  
  
Harmony looked away uneasily, not able to deal with her sister.  
  
1.1.3 I don't understand at all…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Misty rubbed Lapras' head, taking Ash's normal position. "So you say you just leaned over and found it?"  
  
Ash nodded. "Yup… and if it wasn't for Lapras, we'd be back there!" He pointed his index finger casually in the direction behind them.  
  
Brock agreed. "This is going ten times the boat speed!" Lapras whined happily.  
  
Misty blinked. "Is that the island already?"  
  
Ash looked in her direction. "You see it?"  
  
Misty nodded. "Yeah, and we're going to be there in 10 minutes."  
  
Ash nodded, his eyes serious. "Legends up ahead!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Giovanni clicked a remote. Instantly, all the area around him was surround by television screens. He smirked a little, watching the low-quality screens flicker with blood and movement.  
  
"I loooove technology," he murmured to himself, his dark eyes following the shape of the white bird flashing. His Persian purred in response. "You agree, Persian?"  
  
The cat nodded.  
  
"Me too. Thanks to technology…" His grin grew wider. "The world is ours for the taking."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Walking further down the beach, Harmony's soft chocolate eyes caught onto a sapphire figure. Suicune! She tore down the beach and reached the dog in record time. "There you are!" she gasped between breaths. "I've been looking for you!"  
  
And Suicune looked away.  
  
Harmony's eyes shifted away as well. That look… it's what I've been giving my sister… because I was afraid of her! She drooped her head from guilt.  
  
Sunnie glanced back at Harmony and her heart broke. She nudged the girl's hands. Concentrating hard, she mind-said, Its okay. I didn't mean it like that.  
  
Harmony's eyes met with Sunnie's. "I knew you could talk by mind… but to me?" She fondly rubbed the silky headdress of the dog.  
  
Sunnie gave a soft purr-like sound and nodded. Anyone I want to. But especially people like you. The dog smiled a little.  
  
"Like me? As in, have some kind of… purpose?"  
  
Sunnie shook her head no. Not purpose… meaning and significance. I guess. Everyone has a purpose though. The rain splashed against her sleek coat. Even me…She turned her eyes away from Harmony and took a step forwards.  
  
"Huh? What's wrong?" she asked, a worried tone filtering through her innocent barrier. She rushed in front of the dog and held her face in her hands.  
  
Sunnie sighed, despite being a dog. Don't worry about it. You have enough to worry about. She smiled and turned her face forwards again. Suddenly, her wide eyes narrowed into slits and back again in a split second. She started shivering, and her paws and back legs shifted into human ones in a wave of light. Half-morphed, she dashed ahead awkwardly, barking, then her body became human again and she was crying, tears racing down her face. "Look ahead…" she choked, collapsing on the ground.  
  
Harmony's eyes glanced up from the frightened girl and into the distance. A clear silver form was ramming the rocks on the side of the island. Lugia! People planning for tomorrow's festival scattered from under the massive shadow, their hoarse screams heard from a mile back. Hunks of dusty rock flew from the land into the ocean, causing huge waves and a Lapras to loose balance and almost throw its passengers into the black below them. Harmony gasped, stunned with fear.  
  
Finally she snapped back. Clutching Sunnie's shoulders, she tossed her back and forth, crying her name. Sunnie arose quietly, and Harmony commanded her to take her to Lugia immediately. Sunnie nodded gently, morphed quickly into her bluer form, and waited for Harmony to get on. Once astride, it was only seconds until both girls were almost under Lugia, desperately trying to shield themselves from flying rocks.  
  
"Lugia! Substorm! My friend! Do you hear me?!" Sunnie shrieked as she returned to human, her eyes filled with anger and hatred. "Protector of this island! My brother, through love and hate, loneliness and separation! What are you doing?!"  
  
  
  
Trying to regain control of himself, Substorm dropped down carefully on his back two legs and let out a long, pitiful, heart-wrenching wail. It's not my fault, he tried to reassure himself. Not my fault. He sighed and lowered his head at a level equal to Sunnie's. Suicune, Sunnie, my friend. Do you hear me? Protector of clean water, my sister, through joy and pain, desperation and sacrifice, do you see what I am doing?  
  
Sunnie reached up and hugged his face gently. "Oh, you aren't trying to kill everyone! But then, why are you doing this?" She frowned impatiently.  
  
He groaned and looked away from her eyes. Can't you see that I have no control over my actions? The vile one has my mind under his powers. Why he has not taken yours, I can't figure out. Perhaps he's saving you for later purposes.  
  
Sunnie focused her eyes with his, concern spread across her face. "Is there anything I can do?"  
  
Suddenly, the giant bird began hovering above them. Die, children of peace! His suffering but calm face was replaced by one of pure evil. You know too much good to live! His huge form shot at them.  
  
Harmony started screaming and froze, but Sunnie grabbed her hand quickly and with such force Harmony was thrown into the air. Sunnie let go at just the right moment and morphed into Suicune below her as Harmony slipped downwards. She found herself on the dog's back, racing faster than she had ever seen, just in front of Lugia's thundering mass. She trembled as the vibrations from the huge bird shook the earth and herself. Clutching onto Suicune mane in fear, she realized she had not been breathing, and quickly gasped for air.  
  
Suicune's tracks zig-zagged across the sand, narrowly missing the attempts on both of their lives. Finally, the bird gave up chase and continued ramming the rocks empty-mindedly. Sighing and breathing hard, Harmony slid of Suicune's back as she morphed back to human and they both collapsed across the ground in fierce relief. Burning tears slid down Sunnie's cheeks, eyes narrowed in anger. Harmony coughed out the flying sand that she had almost choked on.  
  
  
  
High above the two girls sat Melody, watching them with curiosity. The silvery form of Lugia was clouded with dust again. Lugia, she thought, and shook her head. Now see what you have done.  
  
Focusing away from the damage, she waved down at her sister and yelled, "Come up here!" She smiled absent-mindedly. Her baby sister was okay—she always would be.  
  
  
  
Harmony gaped. Not her, not now, she thought with disgust. I can't deal with her now. She swallowed, though, and grasped Sunnie's hand and raced both across the wet beach.  
  
Sunnie gasped for air frantically, when suddenly she was hit with an idea that made her forget breathing. "Come on," she exclaimed, "No time to explain! Let's just go!" She pulled Harmony upward with an abnormal strength, eyes glistening. Struggling, she flew across the well-traveled path, pebbles gaining air with the impact of bare foot against ground.  
  
Harmony choked complaints while being dragged upwards. "I can't… what are you… stop… come on!" She yanked her hand free at the last one and eyed Sunnie uncertainly. "What is going on in your head?"  
  
Sunnie smiled wistfully, watching her struggle to regain her sense. "I have an idea. It might not work, but it's the only one I've got, and something's got to change. Now come on!" She grabbed Harmony's hand with less resistance now and pulled her gently up, careful of her footing as the path grew steeper. Determination burned in her eyes, her face set with a grim acceptance. Time to begin.  
  
  
  
Melody watched Sunnie climb up towards her and a faint recognition struck her. It was another one of the Few. She smiled.  
  
Sunnie smiled, catching her breath from the climb. "Hey, Melody. I have a question to ask you. Umm, can you take out your flute?"  
  
Melody nodded, reached for her ivory purse and slipped it open, grasping the flute. "Yes, Sunnie. It is here."  
  
Sunnie grinned. "May I ask you to play it?"  
  
Melody's smile disappeared. "I am sorry, but I am no longer the peace- maker. It is not my position to play for you. It is up to someone else to find the courage."  
  
Sunnie blinked. "I don't understand."  
  
Melody stood up. "I cannot play it. I am no longer the person chosen to fulfill this part of the story. The flute goes to you, Harmony." She stepped forwards and pressed the flute into Harmony's open hands. "It is yours now."  
  
Harmony glanced at Sunnie, then back to Melody. "What? I don't even know how to play this!" Her hands shook anxiously. "I can't control a giant dragon bird! Are you nuts?!"  
  
Melody began walking away, but turned back for a moment. "No. That's what life has taught me. Anything you want to do, you can. Just believe in yourself." She faced back to the ocean, then started making her way down.  
  
Harmony stared down at the shell with emptiness. "Just great."  
  
Sunnie shook her head and stepped behind Harmony. "Here, take it to your lips, like that… yes. Try blowing into the little hole…"  
  
A tiny squeak trilled from the hole. Harmony looked crestfallen. "Told you it wouldn't work." She glanced behind her at Sunnie. "Told you."  
  
Sunnie glared, causing Harmony to jump a foot from the intensity. "If you give up now, you destroy the world. A million people and pokemon are counting on you. Every second this world exists can be wiped away forever and never breathe again. If you fail, you end everything. Do you understand?" Fear and tension shook through her voice. "If you fail, you end everything." Angry tears formed at the side of her eyes.  
  
Harmony nodded quietly, suddenly frightened and subdued. Finally, she resolved herself, and her eyes grew into a steely power vault. "I will." She stepped forwards to the very end of the cliff and shut her eyes gently.  
  
Instantly, a flood of colors blinded her eyes, despite being closed. Bright flashes of crimson, wrapped around the dead world, filtered through the clouds of rainbows. Harmony shrieked instinctively. She shook away the image of the planet coated in blood and took instead the view before her into her mind. Ochre sand met dim green water, which met the pale indigo sky, shimmering with glimmering stars and a silver-tinted oval moon.  
  
Suddenly, she could faintly feel Sunnie—no, Suicune behind her and Lugia before her. Concentrating harder, she felt her sister Celebi behind the horizon… and all the others.  
  
It hit her. Each legendary pokemon was a color. Mew was the pink, free and frivolous, cute and young. Entei was red, burning with anger and desire but full of life and purpose. Moltres was orange, wise and mysterious, but still uncertain, and burning with a minor fire of their own. Raikou and Zapdos were sunshine yellow, knowing wisdom, but also filled with a happiness and power they shared with little other than themselves. Her sister, Celebi, was green, filled with growing and learning and loving happiness. Articuno was ice blue, tending to be a little personal but still bright and cheerful. Sunnie was a thick blue, a million shades of light and dark that bled into each other and made up a thousands particles of personality, beauty, emotion, and power. Mewtwo was purple, filled with power and success and courage. Ho-oh and Lugia were almost the same, except Ho-oh was all the colors separated, showing traits of each and knowing each one's secret, and Lugia was all of them blended together, creating the silver-white wisdom and power of each within one being.  
  
And she was the Harmony, changing from each color to each, reflecting her shades infinite times into any heart she chanced against and learning and beginning to understand. She was the perfect rainbow that tied two ends of the sky together, beautiful and unafraid and never-ending. She had pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, and every hue of the universe bleeding together into each other and creating her. She was needed to preserve the Harmony of the island, of the world, of the universe. Without her, the world would crumble apart as if it never existed. But the song she would play would never end, never ever end in the hearts that shone her colors she had given to them, because she was the Harmony that created it.  
  
With this, she picked up the flute from its position in her tightly clenched hand. A million voices echoed in her mind, screaming whispering crying dying bleeding wanting needing flying away in the expanse of her brain. They all were one. Harmony all was one. The flute gently touched her pale lips. She knew how to play, as if printed clearly in her heart. She would bring the world to Harmony. She took a breath in, then…  
  
Okay! That's all for now! YES! I am evil XD Cliffhangers are cool though! One more short part and then we're all done, so stay tuned adoring readers! The next part will be up shortly!  
  
~Suikun 


	5. Part Five

Finally we're here. Final part.  
  
Disclaimer: Pokemon ain't mine! So quit asking!  
  
TIME TO BRING OUT THE HEAVY FONTS!  
  
Treading in Darkness  
  
Part 5  
  
Ash kept a careful eye on Lugia as Lapras tried to find a way onto the island.  
  
"So... we meet again?" he asked softly, his heart beating the speed of a magnet train.  
  
Misty watched him. "Ash..."  
  
He whirled around, startled. "What do you want?" he snapped, the fear rising in his voice as the waves rose around him at the same speed. Dark clouds stormed above him. He was trembling.  
  
She smiled faintly. "We're almost there."  
  
Lapras whined, trying to dodge the churning dark water, rising to her face. The closer they got to shore, the higher the chances of being swallowed by the tide. Lugia kept throwing fragments of the cliff behind him, creating havoc in the water.  
  
"Yeah," he murmured, his eyes set on the shore ahead of him, not knowing what else to say.  
  
Pikachu growled low under its breath. Frustration pounded against disaster in its mind, almost there, almost there.  
  
Lapras dove onto the beach, panting with the burst of speed against treacherous waters. Pikachu hopped off and began running up a pathway created by feet placed into it again and again throughout centuries.  
  
"Pikachu!" Ash cried, ready to take off... but Misty caught his hand as Brock slid off Lapras.  
  
"Look," she whispered in surprise, pointing up at a girl standing on the tip of the cliff.  
  
She looked vaguely familiar to Ash. Her amber hair was gliding across the breeze, a silky white dress that fell just below her knees, drowned gray by the night sky, coated a slim body, and a tiny porcelain flute was clenched into her hand. Her eyes were closed, as if searching for something.  
  
"Is it Melody?" he questioned, fixing his umber eyes on her.  
  
"No," Misty answered in an almost inaudible voice. "Her hair is too light. Who is that behind her?"  
  
A bluish shadow behind the first girl showed to be another, but too far away for Ash to see.  
  
"I don't know," he confessed.  
  
Misty stared. "Now she's lifting up her flute... and is about to play..."  
  
Confidence flooded through Harmony as she pressed the miniature hole through her lips. She would never be afraid again, no matter what life brought her. The breeze reassured her, her hair gently riding on it.  
  
The notes flowed easily, smoothly. Sweet pleasure and sorrow bled through each one. She was reminded instantly of a pure white, peaceful and all knowing. She felt like dancing, taking each note as a graceful step.  
  
By the fifth note, she opened her eyes and gazed at the silver stars. The stars knew more than she did. Within the stars laid everlasting truth. Indigo sky reflected in her dark eyes.  
  
Suddenly, Lugia began floating upwards, glowing a silver color and shadowing the sky. Awe ran through Harmony. She almost stopped playing, except she didn't.  
  
Lugia floated to the tip of the cliff. Harmony sensed she was to get on. Cautious steps led her onto his back. She stood still, feeling him breath to the rhythm of the notes. A thrill of peace ran through her, causing her to shiver.  
  
Still the melody continued. A quick rainbow flash struck beside her, then Ho-oh's image fell in beside Lugia's. She smiled, closing her eyes, instinctively knowing she wouldn't fall.  
  
Slowly, Mew appeared below Lugia in the same way that Ho-oh did, followed by Entei. Moltres became to the right, leading in Raikou and Zapdos. Celebi slipped in next, then Articuno. A gap, then Mewtwo flashed in. She didn't have to open her eyes to know they were there... she just knew.  
  
Sunnie stepped to the end of the cliff, hanging over the beach. A dancing step took her off, except she didn't fall. With a blur of azure winds, sleek diamonds and blue fur threaded across her human skin. She stepped into her place, right where she belonged.  
  
Harmony was filled with energy the instant Suicune fit in. It pulsated through her blood. She reviewed the colors in her mind. Pink made her feel light, airy, and free. Red created passion; orange fire. Yellow was bright and wise. Green was filled with life and magic, and blue was intensity and variety. Purple was courage... and white was purity. Yes... there were all there.  
  
Energy poured forth from each one below her... beams of rose, crimson, orange, sunshine, forest, ice, ocean, and lavender shot out from each pokemon into the horizon.  
  
She wondered what Ho-oh and Lugia would do as she played the song over again.  
  
Ho-oh soared just above all of the colors. As he passed, the colors began bleeding into each other.  
  
Gently, Lugia dropped down and as his body touched the rainbow, it started to become solid, shimmers of silver tracing the surface.  
  
Suddenly, she found herself standing on it, surrounded by a group of people that she recognized. Sunnie was behind her, touching her shoulder. Lugia--no, Substorm--stepped forwards and took her hand.  
  
"This," he murmured in a tranquil, sure voice, "Is your life path, Harmony. You can do anything you want now. Your life will never be controlled by fate again... it is up to you to create happiness for yourself and Harmony for the world."  
  
She smiled a little, glancing at the glass rainbow below her feet that stretched on for infinite in either direction. "Are you sure? Is this real, or is it a dream?"  
  
Sunnie gave her a little push forwards. "Why would we ever lie to you, Harmony?" She smiled. Harmony suddenly realized she looked older... about 22 years old. Tranquility lit her face. "You have done so much for us and for the world. Is there any reason you should not have what you deserve?"  
  
Harmony looked a little troubled. "But what about the rest of the world? Can't they share my happiness?"  
  
Valicano grinned, her fire-red hair flipped across her face casually. "Don't worry about that, Harmony. That's our job."  
  
Harmony smiled. "Thank you," she mouthed, filled with joy. Her heart pulled her forwards across the millions of hues at her feet.  
  
Stepping forwards to meet her destiny, she picked up the flute again and pressed it between her lips and began playing her life song. She began fading into the horizon, a million colors reflected across her body where the sky met water met earth and the shades of so many lives and emotions melted away, finally free.  
  
Ash was so stunned he hadn't even realized Melody had snuck up behind him. She touched his shoulder gently and he jumped.  
  
"Hello, Ash," she murmured assuredly. "How have you been?"  
  
He looked her over in surprise. "Melody?" he questioned, his eyes glimmering from the reflection the rainbow above him.  
  
"Yup," she agreed. "Told Misty?"  
  
He stared at her as if she was crazy. "Told her what?"  
  
"You know," she whispered, smiling. "She wants you to tell her."  
  
He looked blank. "Not now. Not anytime soon, either." He cut off there and stared back at the sky above him.  
  
"Alright. Just my advice," she mumbled, sitting back to look up at the colors above her.  
  
She was finally proud of her baby sister.  
  
Giovanni was laughing hard in his room. He watched the rain fall, not even bothering to keep track of the screen that showed him his new pokemon. Persian purred, its tail flicking angrily.  
  
He had done it. He had done it! He had done what no one was able to do before, what no one else could think of doing... he made the legendary pokemon all his and the world was his! Laughter shook him with a wildness and youth he had never felt, even in his childhood. He laughed and laughed and laughed.  
  
Suddenly, the rain stopped. After a second, not a drop appeared in the sky. The pale moonlight began filtering across his black room.  
  
He stood up, worried. What if something went wrong? He turned to the screen to see what happened.  
  
It was completely blank.  
  
He cursed, and then began to cry tears of frustration. His greatest dream was stolen from him. Lost in the mess, Persian accidentally got in the way and had its tail stepped on. It flew out of the room, yowling.  
  
He didn't understand what had happened on the island, but whatever it was, it had released the legendary pokemon from his grasp. In a desperate attempt to think he was wrong, he tried to telepathically command Lugia to listen to him.  
  
No response.  
  
He groaned, feeling hot tears run across his cheeks. He sank to the floor, sobbing for breath.  
  
He had lost when he was sure victory was his.  
  
The moon wrought crazy shapes across his bent face.  
  
He had lost. He had lost. The words insisted themselves in his mind, repeating over and over again.  
  
He had lost.  
  
Harmony picked up some uncertain pasta with the tongs and placed the gently on her plate. "This should be interesting," she muttered to herself, grinning.  
  
"What a beautiful girl," remarked a female tourist to Rhapsody, watching Harmony. "She's so graceful and talented. And smart, too."  
  
Rhapsody nodded. "She's brave, too. And she helps out with the dishes after dinner--that's what's important!" The two girls both laughed.  
  
Harmony heard them laughing and smiled at their happiness.  
  
Her smile melted at the next food on the salad bar. Carrots. YUCK. She hated carrots. She paced them quickly.  
  
Sunnie fell in beside her, once again at the age Harmony was more familiar with. She picked up the carrots with the spoon, not just once but over and over again.  
  
Harmony laughed. The carrots matched her hair. No wonder she liked them so much!  
  
Sunnie grinned, realizing Harmony was watching her take tons of carrots. "Okay, so I like them." She gave Harmony a little nudge. "Don't you know that?"  
  
Harmony laughed. "Of course I do. I just didn't know water dogs liked carrots."  
  
Sunnie shoved her. "All dogs like carrots! Duh." She began grabbing her weight in sliced up cheese. "And cheese! Mmmm." She licked her lips hungrily.  
  
Harmony giggled. "You're so weird! Quit scaring all the other poor people at the Festival!"  
  
Sunnie looked puzzled. "What's wrong with scaring tourists? I thought we were trying to get rid of them."  
  
Sunnie looked just like a confused puppy. Harmony laughed again. "No, of course not. `Tourists keep you alive, little missy,'" Harmony imitated, her voice going creaky to mimic the village wise woman. She laughed and sat down at an empty table.  
  
Sunnie followed her. "It's funny how the minute you got ready to play your flute, it turned midnight. It's as if time wanted you to play right on the legends day."  
  
Harmony shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. It doesn't really matter." She dove into the pasta, which surprisingly tasted pretty good. "Everything turned out even better than okay, and that's what counts."  
  
Melody pulled up a chair alongside them. "Hey, little sis, ready to go help the Chosen One get the spheres of fire, ice, and lightning?"  
  
Harmony groaned, trying to hide her happiness. She was glad Melody was back to being her sister. "I don't want to go out again," she whined, "Especially after I did all the saving myself."  
  
"No, I'm just kidding. You don't have to do anything. I already placed the spheres where they belong." Melody tousled Harmony's hair. "Anything for my little sister," she added, smiling.  
  
Harmony laughed. "Thanks a lot."  
  
A slick-looking Thunda slid over to their table. "Is it too much to ask the fair Harmony for a dance?" he asked, pretending to be romantic.  
  
Harmony giggled. "Go dance by yourself... I'm talking! To them!" Sunnie grinned.  
  
Thunda pretend to look crestfallen. "Fine. Suit yourself." He walked away, instantly looking powerful again.  
  
Melody looked at the bamboo clock behind them, then nudged Harmony with her elbow. "Hey! You're up!" When Harmony looked confused, she hissed as all the voice around them fell to a whisper, "Go play your flute!"  
  
Harmony nodded and stood up. Silent steps led her to the center stage. Somewhere in the audience, Ash screamed, "GO HARMONY!" She smiled in response, then closed her eyes, focusing only on her flute.  
  
The rainbow ran to her again, weaving in and out of her body and soul. Tranquility leaked through her mind.  
  
Each second hung like a darling teardrop on a crying cheek, seeming to last forever. The audience became mute, fixed on her.  
  
She picked up the flute. The notes slid through, gliding through the air natural ease. The age-old melody became fresh in her mind again.  
  
Her rainbow rode out the door, across the wind, through the ocean, dancing among the stars. It was a part of everything. She felt her audience, including her new friends, slip into peace. It was all part of the song.  
  
She played it without effort, because it came from her and didn't need to be found. She felt everything blend together around her. There was no difference between them... they were just different hues of light.  
  
And she strung the all together, like colors in a rainbow, because that was her duty and purpose. It was so natural. They belonged together. A life devoid of all colors but one is flat. One color is meaningless without the others, except white because it is all the colors, and black, because it is none of the colors.  
  
Everything was the same, just different colors. They belonged together. And she brought them together.  
  
Because she was Harmony.  
  
Alright! How was that? Like the ending?  
I must have set a record... wrote a whole part (even more--the last part) of TID in just one day! Then again... I haven't done anything else XD  
  
And yes, this series will be continued. However, it will not be the same characters exactly (ie--no Harmony, although the legendary pokemon make a comeback), obviously the plot will be completely different because this one's all used up, and it WON'T be posted on fanfiction.net. I'm creating a site that'll be open in May (hopefully before) and the legendary will play a big part, although the beginning doesn't show that they will. It's going to be really neat! Check out my profile in May (or bookmark [1]www.geocities.com/pokemorphus) and you can get the opening of the site!  
  
TID has been my sole story writing practice until recently... so kind of excuse any mistakes that come up, I have improved since then! I will NOT edit it because it shows how I wrote way back when.  
  
Have fun reading and see you at [2]www.geocities.com/pokemorphus!  
  
~Suikun  
  
References  
  
1. http://www.geocities.com/pokemorphus  
2. http://www.geocities.com/pokemorphus 


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